54 BCBusiness May 2014
as "intensifi cation" of industrial land
will mean a new look to the old indus-
trial parks we've become accustomed
to. So-called "next generation" build-
ings are more automated and have
higher ceilings to rack more goods
on the same footprint. Parking can
be moved underground or to a roof,
while creative zoning allows for multi-
level buildings with multiple related
uses under one roof.
In its 2012 discussion paper, "Best
Practices for the Intensive Use of
Industrial Land," Metro Vancouver
points to examples of industrial inten-
sifi cation even within the urban core.
The MP Lighting building at the corner
of Fourth Avenue and Ontario Street
in Vancouver, for example, incorpo-
rates manufacturing, a showroom and
offi ce space, and also includes under-
ground parking and loading bays for
shipping. The Terra Breads building
in Vancouver's Mount Pleasant neigh-
bourhood includes an industrial bak-
ery that supplies local retailers, along
with an offi ce space and a retail store.
Metro says most municipal intensi-
fi cation eff orts to date have involved
adjustments to zoning bylaws to
allow for larger and higher buildings.
Coquitlam, for example, recently
amended its zoning bylaw to allow
higher building heights and increased
density in its industrial zones. Cor-
rigan admits creating multi-level,
mixed-use industrial buildings is
unorthodox, and is confounding to
many city planners. But he believes
that by necessity, this will change.
Another potential solution to the
growing scarcity of industrial land is
to move some port-related activities
outside of Metro altogether. The Vil-
lage of Ashcroft, for example, is home
to a private facility that aims to be in
essence a land-locked port: a 320-acre
terminal connected to highways and
the mainlines of both the CP and CN
railways. Off ering logistics, materials
handling and transloading services,
the facility is looking to grow. "It's a
great thing for the Lower Mainland,"
Village of Ashcroft mayor Andy Ander-
son said last year of the terminal.
"They stand to lose 600 acres of prime
farmland in Delta. Do they really want
to do that?"
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